Frank Jackson Media Availability – July 14, 2020
On what has surprised him about his teammates after being back with them on the court:
“No new surprises, honestly. I think we all came in here knowing what to expect, but it’s been cool to see us coming out firing still. Obviously, you see the guys have still worked on their game in the off time, and we’ve been super competitive the last few days and honestly just been enjoying the time together the past few days.”
On if being in the ‘bubble’ can help determine a team’s maturity level as far as abiding by all rules in place:
“Definitely. I mean, you can definitely say that these are unchartered times, so the teams who are mentally strong and mentally tough and more mature, as you say, are going to be the ones who are going to come out on top. I think that’s our ultimate goal. We have one goal here, and that’s to win basketball games.”
On having the opportunity to make the playoffs after such a slow start to the season:
“It’s been a long journey. We’ve really come together and just become more comfortable with each other honestly, as the year has gone by. It’s been super fun to be around this team and in this group of guys. Each day I feel like we get closer and closer, and this is just a great time to do what we do best, and that’s hoop.”
On the food and the process of accessing food in the ‘bubble’ and his favorite meal so far:
“So, we have a team room where meals are set up for us, cold and hot, which is nice, so you can honestly go down and get food whenever. They have a number of restaurants that you can order in from, and honestly, I’ve been doing the room service. It’s been solid. I don’t think anything specifically, but it’s all normal stuff we’re used to here. It’s fine.”
On how much he was able to get on the court during quarantine and stay prepared for the return-to-play:
“I was lucky enough to have a buddy who has a court in his house, so I was just using that court because it was private. It was real nice. I just tried to stay as active as I could. I was in Utah, so I was back home, so I was outside up in the mountains just kind of staying active. I was still able to stay in shape honestly, and I feel great right now. I feel great.”
On if there is more of a focus on conditioning and stretching after taking off for so long:
“Honestly, Nelly (Aaron Nelson) and the staff have done a great job year-round with that. I think even without the virus and all this pandemic going on, we have always come prepared. They always make sure that we have what we need, and I think definitely the last couple of days we’ve definitely focused on our conditioning, so we’ve been playing a lot just to get our wind back. When you don’t play five-on-five for three months, it takes a couple of days to get back into it. Honestly, they’ve done a great job of providing us with our recovery bags in our rooms, and we have everything that we need to stay healthy and be ready.”
